Garter belt



P. BLATT GARTER BELT Filed March 5, 1957 Dec. 2, 1958 IN VEN TOR. PAM/AA 54A 77' Arromwsys United States Patent GARTER BELT Paula Blatt, Cleveland, Ohio Application March 5, 1957, Serial N0. 643,961 2 Claims. 01. 128-535) This invention relates to the general class of wearing apparel and consists of a belt or girdle with improved means for attaching the garters thereto.

As is of course well known, there have been patented a number of belts and girdles with garter-attaching means; but my present invention is particularly designed for use with elastic stockings which of course do not possess the longitudinal yieldability that is characteristic of the regular stockings during the usual motions of the body of the wearer in actual use and therefore itmight be said that the elastic stocking virtually exerts a very decided downward pull upon the garters and hence upon the girdle or garter belt. Because of such downward pull, the lightweight garments Of this type have had to be supported from the wearers shoulders but this has proved uncomfortable and hence objectionable. Thus the purpose of my present invention is to devise a garter belt or girdle in which the downward pull of the elastic stocking will not dislodge the garment from itsnormal position upon the body of the. wearer even though it has waist-line support instead of over-shoulder support.

Another object is to devise such a garment that can be used with advantage with either elastic stockings or with the regular type of stockings.

Another object is to devise such an improvement that can be embodied in either a garter belt or a girdle.

It is also contemplated that the present invention may be embodied in garments that are designed for use as maternity aids or for general use.

Other objects will appear from the following description' and claims when considered with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of my present garment, in the form of a garter belt, when in idle position off of the body of the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a front perspective of the same garment as shown in Fig. 1 but in position upon the body of the wearer;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the same garment upon the body of the wearer.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing in detail, which illustrates my present invention embodied in a garter belt with a maternity aid, the comparatively wide longitudinally elastic strip or band 1 extends at the top of the garment about the front and sides thereof and has its two ends attached to the upper part of the rear member 2 which is adapted to have elfective engagement with the sacroiliac region of the wearers body. The member 2 is of comparatively heavy material that may have stretch in either vertical or horizontal direction, if at all, when in position upon the body lOf the wearer. The member 2 may be folded upon itself at the top part thereof, as at 2a, so as to increase the rigidity thereof and may have also reinforcing strips 2b applied along its upright sides. Side members 3 and 4 of power net or similar material, with stretch in only substantially horizontal direction about the body of the wearer, are attached at their upper edges along the lower edges of the 2,862,501 Patented Dec. 2, 1958 "ice 2 band 1 and extend to points at the front of the garment and are attached at their rear ends to the sides of the rear member 2 except for the lower-most part thereof. The members 3 and 4 terminate at the front inspaced relation to each other and their front ends extend downwardly and rearwardly from each other. That is to say, the

front ends of the members 3 and 4 are spaced from each other to a greater extent at the lower parts than at the upper parts thereof, as indicated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawing. As herein illustrated, for instance, the front ends of the parts 3 and 4 may extend at angles of approximately 45 degrees when the garment is off of the body of the wearer and in idle condition, as indicated in Fig. 1 of the present drawing.

A continuous strip 5 of longitudinally elastic material is attached to the lower edges of the members 3 and 4 and across the lower part of the rear member 2, the strip 5 being extended at its front ends so as to constitute the front or inner garters 6 and 7. When the garment is oil. of the body of the wearer and in idle condition, as in Fig. 1, the inner or front garters 6 and 7 will extend in a substantially horizontal direction and substantially in line with each other.

The longitudinally elastic outer or rear garter strips 8 and 9, of longitudinally elastic material, have their upper or rear ends connected to the joints between the rear member 2 and the members 3 and 4. These points of attachment may be at or near the bottom edge of the garment. The garters 8 and 9 are sufficient length to extend about the hip region of the wearers body and upon the inside of the members 3 and 4 so as to be adapted for attachment to the upper ends of the stockings.

When the garment is in position upon the body of the wearer, the band 1 will extend beneath the abdomen of the wearer so as to afford means of uplifting engagement therebeneath as an aid during the period of pregnancy; and the belt 1 extends thence above the hips and about the waist region of the wearer so that the rear part 2 will have engagement with the sacroiliac region of the wearers body. The band 1, by virtue of its elasticity and size with respect to the body of the wearer in any given case, will be stretched into taut and effective engagement about her body. Also, by virtue of the substantial depth or height of the members 3 and 4, the lower parts thereof will be subjected to comparatively greater stretch about the wearers hips and buttock region, with the result that the front garter members 6 and 7 will then assume downwardly and forwardly inclined positions approaching straight lines, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. That is, the lower front corners of the members 3 and 4 may then be positioned at or slightly to the rear of the front median line of the wearers thighs and the front garter members 6 and 7 will extend angularly towards each other so as to have the points of attachment thereof with the stockings correspond approximately with the front median lines of the wearers thighs, as herein illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

The elastic garter members 8 and 9 for the rear orouter garters may extend angularly downwardly and forwardly beneath the garment and have attachment with the'stockings at points approximately at the sides of the wearers thighs; and the directions of extent of the front and rear garter members may, in each instance, be approximately, parallel to each other so as to avoid danger of twisting the stockings.

Since both the front and rear garter members extend in a substantially angular manner, the direction of pull by the stockings will be substantially about the body of the wearer; that is to say, the force exerted by the virtual, downward pull of the stockings will include a substantially horizontal component which will produce an effective binding engagement of the garment about the body of the wearer and which will thus serve to hold the garment even more firmly in position upon the body of the wearer. This same thing is" true of both the front and rear garters and thus the danger of the garment being dislodged downwardly by the virtual pull that is transmitted from the stockings along the garters, is reduced to a practical nil. To the contrary, such virtual pull will, by virtue of the direction of extent of the garter members 6, 7 and 8, 9 serve to hold the garment in a more secure engagement upon the body of the wearer at all times during all motions and positions of her body when in actual use thereupon.

The advantage, as just mentioned, is especially important in the case of elastic stockings which, as above ex plained, exert a much greater virtual, downward pull than the regular type of stockings, or, to state it another way, the elastic stockings do not yield as much as the regular type of stockings in response to the movements of the wearers body during actual use of the same.'

Whether the present invention be embodied in a garter belt or in a girdle about the wearers abdomen and waist region, there may be realized and enjoyed the same practical advantage as above indicated. Also, such a belt or girdle may be Worn with either elastic stockings or the regular type of stockings. Furthermore, this invention may be embodied in either maternity garments or in garments which are designed for conventional use.

It is to be understood that the present form of disclosure is merely for the sake 'of illustration and that there might be devised various modifications thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention as herein set forth and claimed.

What I claim is:

l. A garment comprising a band adapted to extend about the waist and hip regions of the wearers body and having a rear part adapted for engagement with the sacroiliac region of her body, said band having laterally elastic sides that are of substantial height for engagement about the wearers hips and that have lower front in idle condition, a longitudinally elastic inner garter strap attached to the lower part of each of said front end portions as a continuation thereof in the same substantially horizontal manner when in idle condition oii of the wearers body and adapted to extend downwardly and forwardly when the garment is in stretched condition about the hips of the wearer, and oppositely disposed longitudinally elastic outer garter straps attached to said rear part of said band and adapted to extend downwardly and forwardly in a manner substantially parallel to said inner garter straps when the garters are in position of actual use upon the body of the wearer.

2. A garment comprising a laterally inelastic rear portion for engagement with the sacroiliac region of the body of the wearer, a longitudinally elastic band with rear en'ds attached to the upper part of said rear portion and adapted to extend about the waist and in upward supporting engagement beneath the abdomen of the wearers body, longitudinally elastic hip-engaging portions of substantial height having rear ends attached to said rear portion and attached to said elastic band and having front ends in spaced relation to each other, the lower edges of said hip-engaging portions extending substantially horizontally when in idle condition, longitudinally elastic inner garter straps attached to the lower edges of said hip-engaging portions as continuations thereof in the same substantially horizontal manner when the garment is in idle position off of the body of the wearer and adapted to extend forwardly and downwardly when the garment is in stretched condition about the hips of the wearers body, and longitudinally elastic outer garter straps attached to said rear portion and adapted to extend downwardly and forwardly substantially parallel to said inner garter straps when the garment is in position of use upon the body of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

